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Looking Back at 2014: Year of Stocking Stuffers for Criminal Corporations
2014 was the year that nine-figure government settlement deals with corporations passed from shocking anomaly to normal event, and many of these mega deals came with significant tax deductions for wrongdoing.
Many of the largest settlements this year, addressing allegations of some of the most egregious crimes, have allowed companies to deduct their payments from taxes.
For example, the record-breaking $16.65 billion settlement between the Department of Justice and Bank of America in reality will cost the corporation several billions less than the amount advertised in headlines and press releases. The value of this unadvertised giveback: at least $4 billion.
"When these payments get deducted from taxes, they become just another business expense rather than an explicit punishment," said Michelle Surka, Program Associate with US Public Interest Research Group. "That's the wrong message to send about an agreement that's meant to deter future misdeeds against the public."
Allowing corporations to claim tax deductions for the settlement payments they make became a notable trend this year, with some of the largest agreements coming with sizable deductions.
The Department of Justice collected a record $25 billion in penalties and fines this year. Many of these out-of-court deals to resolve charges of corporate misdeeds were with Wall Street banks atoning for bad behaviors that precipitated the financial meltdown. Others were pharmaceutical companies accused of false marketing or other medical firms accused of bilking Medicare.
Extendicare, Endo Health Solutions, and Shire Pharmaceuticals were some of the healthcare companies that settled and ultimately deducted payments made to resolve allegations of wrongdoing. Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and HSBC are some of the Wall Street players to sign tax deductible settlement agreements in the past year.
Every dollar in tax windfalls that companies collect to subsidize their wrongdoing must be made up for by American taxpayers through higher tax rates, program cuts, or more national debt.
Settlement agreements don't have to be tax deductible. This past year, several government agencies included specific clauses in their settlement agreements with corporations accused of wrongdoing that denied tax deductions for the payments.
The Environmental Protection Agency settled with both Hyundai and Kia over allegations of misleading consumers about fuel economy ratings. The two car companies paid a total of $100 million in penalties, making this settlement the largest of its kind. The EPA specified that any penalties associated with the settlement could not be deducted for tax purposes. By being completely explicit about this, the EPA saved American taxpayers at least $35 million.
"In 2015, government agencies shouldn't just sign more settlement agreements--they should sign more effective ones. Agencies should protect taxpayers while preventing future corporate crimes," said Surka, "Instead of just big numbers, we should aim for big results that protect the public."
You can read U.S. PIRG's report on tax write-offs in settlements here: "Subsidizing Bad Behavior: How Corporate Legal Settlements for Harming the Public Become Lucrative Tax Write-Offs."
U.S. PIRG, the federation of state Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs), stands up to powerful special interests on behalf of the American public, working to win concrete results for our health and our well-being. With a strong network of researchers, advocates, organizers and students in state capitols across the country, we take on the special interests on issues, such as product safety,political corruption, prescription drugs and voting rights,where these interests stand in the way of reform and progress.
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100+ Democrats Urge Trump to Improve US-Mexico-Canada Trade Deal
"We are united in our view that the agreement enacted in 2020 has failed to deliver improvements for American workers, family farmers, and communities nationwide."
Nov 03, 2025
A group of more than 100 congressional Democrats on Monday called on President Donald Trump to use the opportunity presented by the mandatory review of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement "to make significant and necessary improvements to the pact" that will benefit American workers and families.
"In 2020, some of us supported USMCA, some opposed it, and some were not in Congress," the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Trump led by Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Frank Mrvan (D-Ind.). "Today, we are united in our view that the agreement enacted in 2020 has failed to deliver improvements for American workers, family farmers, and communities nationwide."
The USMCA replaced the highly controversial North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which was enacted during the administration of then-Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1994 after being signed by former Republican President George H.W. Bush in 1992. The more recent agreement contains a mandatory six-year review.
As the lawmakers' letter notes:
Since enactment of the USMCA, multinational corporations have continued to use the threat of offshoring as leverage wielded against workers standing up for dignity on the job and a share of the profits generated by their hard work—and far too often, enabled by our trade deals, companies have acted on these threats. The US trade deficit with Mexico and Canada has significantly increased, and surging USMCA imports have undermined American workers and farmers and firms in the auto, steel, aerospace, and other sectors. Under the current USMCA rules, this ongoing damage is likely to worsen: Since USMCA, Chinese companies have increased their investment in manufacturing in Mexico to skirt US trade enforcement sanctions against unfair Chinese imports of products like electric vehicles and to take advantage of Mexico’s duty-free access to the US consumer market under the USMCA.
These disappointing results contrast with your claims at the time of the USMCA’s launch, when you promised Americans that the pact would remedy the NAFTA trade deficit, bring “jobs pouring into the United States,” and be “an especially great victory for our farmers.”
Those farmers are facing numerous troubles, not least of which are devastating tariffs resulting from Trump's trade war with much of the world. In order to strengthen the USMCA to protect them and others, the lawmakers recommend measures including but not limited to boosting labor enforcement and stopping offshoring, building a real "Buy North American" supply chain, and standing up for family farmers.
"The USMCA must... be retooled to ensure it works for family farmers and rural communities," the letter states. "Under the 2020 USMCA, big agriculture corporations have raked in enormous profits while family farmers and working people in rural communities suffered."
"We believe that an agreement that includes the improvements that we note in this letter" will "ensure the USMCA delivers real benefits for American workers, farmers, and businesses, [and] can enjoy wide bipartisan support," the lawmakers concluded.
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Land Degradation Threatens Billions of Lives Worldwide, Warns UN Food Agency
"Sustainable land management requires enabling environments that support long-term investment, innovation, and stewardship," said the head of the Food and Agriculture Organization.
Nov 03, 2025
A report published Monday by a United Nations agency revealed that nearly 1 in 5 people on Earth live in regions affected by failing crop yields driven by human-induced land degradation, “a pervasive and silent crisis that is undermining agricultural productivity and threatening ecosystem health worldwide."
According to the latest UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) State of Food and Agriculture report, "Today, nearly 1.7 billion people live in areas where land degradation contributes to yield losses and food insecurity."
"These impacts are unevenly distributed: In high-income countries, degradation is often masked by intensive input use, while in low-income countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, yield gaps are driven by limited access to inputs, credit, and markets," the publication continues. "The convergence of degraded land, poverty, and malnutrition creates vulnerability hotspots that demand urgent, targeted and, comprehensive responses."
#LandDegradation threatens land's ability to sustain us. The good news: Reversing 10% of degraded cropland can produce food for an additional 154 million people.
▶️Learn how smarter policies & greener practices can turn agriculture into a force for land restoration.
#SOFA2025 pic.twitter.com/8U3yQk9lX4
— Food and Agriculture Organization (@FAO) November 3, 2025
In order to measure land degradation, the report's authors compared three key indicators of current conditions in soil organic carbon, soil erosion, and soil water against conditions that would exist without human alteration of the environment. That data was then run through a machine-learning model that considers environmental and socioeconomic factors driving change to estimate the land’s baseline state without human activity.
Land supports over 95% of humanity's food production and provides critical ecosystem services that sustain life on Earth. Land degradation—which typically results from a combination of factors including natural drivers like soil erosion and salizination and human activities such as deforestation, overgrazing, and unsustainable irrigation practices—threatens billions of human and other lives.
The report notes the importance of land to living beings:
Since the invention of agriculture 12,000 years ago, land has played a central role in sustaining civilizations. As the fundamental resource of agrifood systems, it interacts with natural systems in complex ways, influencing soil quality, water resources, and biodiversity, while securing global food supplies and supporting the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Biophysically, it consists of a range of components including soil, water, flora, and fauna, and provides numerous ecosystem services including nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, and water purification, all of which are subject to climate and weather conditions.
Socioeconomically, land supports many sectors such as agriculture, forestry, livestock, infrastructure development, mining, and tourism. Land is also deeply woven into the cultures of humanity, including those of Indigenous peoples, whose unique agrifood systems are a profound expression of ancestral lands and territories, waters, nonhuman relatives, the spiritual realm, and their collective identity and self-determination. Land, therefore, functions as the basis for human livelihoods and well-being.
"At its core, land is an essential resource for agricultural production, feeding billions of people worldwide and sustaining employment for millions of agrifood workers," the report adds. "Healthy soils, with their ability to retain water and nutrients, underpin the cultivation of crops, while pastures support livestock; together they supply diverse food products essential to diets and economies."
The report recommends steps including reversing 10% of all human-caused land degradation on existing cropland by implementing crop rotation and other sustainable management practices, which the authors say could produce enough food to feed an additional 154 million people annually.
"Reversing land degradation on existing croplands through sustainable land use and management could close yield gaps to support the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of producers," FAO Director-General Dongyu Qu wrote in the report’s foreword. "Additionally, restoring abandoned cropland could feed hundreds of millions more people."
"These findings represent real opportunities to improve food security, reduce pressure on natural ecosystems, and build more resilient agrifood systems," Qu continued. "To seize these opportunities, we must act decisively. Sustainable land management requires enabling environments that support long-term investment, innovation, and stewardship."
"Secure land tenure—for both individuals and communities—is essential," he added. "When land users have confidence in their rights, they are more likely to invest in soil conservation, crop diversity and productivity."
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GOP Blocks Democratic Resolution Demanding 'Unbelievably Cruel' Trump Fully Fund SNAP
"Trump cares more about playing politics than making sure kids don't starve," said Sen. Jeff Merkley. "Kids and families are not poker chips or hostages. Trump must release the entirety of the SNAP funds immediately."
Nov 03, 2025
After President Donald Trump's administration announced Monday that it would partially fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for November to comply with a federal court order, a Republican senator blocked congressional Democrats' resolution demanding full funding for the SNAP benefits of 42 million Americans during the US government shutdown.
"Trump is using food as a weapon against children, families, and seniors to enact his 'Make Americans Hungry Agenda,'" declared Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), who is spearheading the measure with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
"It's unbelievably cruel, but Trump cares more about playing politics than making sure kids don't starve," he continued. "Kids and families are not poker chips or hostages. Trump must release the entirety of the SNAP funds immediately."
Merkley on Monday night attempted to pass the resolution by unanimous consent, but Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) blocked the bill and blamed congressional Democrats for the shutdown, which is nearly the longest in US history.
The government shut down at the beginning of last month because the GOP majorities in Congress wanted to advance their spending plans, while Democrats in the Senate—where Republicans need some Democratic support to pass most legislation—refused to back a funding bill that didn't repeal recent Medicaid cuts and extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies.
Then, the Trump administration threatened not to pay out any SNAP benefits in November and claimed it couldn't use billions of dollars in emergency funding to cover even some of the $8 billion in monthly food stamps. Thanks to a pair of federal lawsuits and Friday rulings, the US Department of Agriculture on Monday agreed to use $4.65 billion from the contingency fund to provide partial payments. However, the USDA refuses to use Section 32 tax revenue to cover the rest of what families are supposed to get, and absent an end to the shutdown, there's no plan for any future payments.
"The Trump administration should stop weaponizing hunger for 42 million Americans and immediately release full—not partial—SNAP benefits," Schumer said in a statement, after also speaking out on the Senate floor Monday. "As the courts have affirmed, USDA has and must use their authority to fully fund SNAP. Anything else is unacceptable and a half-measure. The Senate must pass this resolution, and Trump must end his manufactured hunger crisis by fully funding SNAP."
The resolution states that the Trump administration "is legally obligated" to the use of the contingency fund for the program, "has the legal authority and the funds to finance SNAP through the month of November," and should "immediately" do so.
The resolution—backed by all members of the Senate Democratic Caucus except Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania—stresses that "exercising this power is extremely important for the health and wellness of families experiencing hunger, including about 16,000,000 children, 8,000,000 seniors, 4,000,000 people with disabilities, and 1,200,000 veterans."
Congresswomen Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) and Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.) planned to introduce a companion resolution in the House of Representatives. Hayes noted Monday that "never in the history of the program has funding for SNAP lapsed and people been left hungry."
Bonamici said that "the Trump administration finally agreed to release funding that Congress set aside to keep people from going hungry during a disruption like this shutdown, but it should not have taken a lawsuit to get these funds released. Now the House Republicans need to get back to Washington, DC and work to get the government back open."
This article was updated after an unsuccessful attempt to pass the resolution.
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